Klallam is an endangered and little-documented native American language of the Salishan language family. Although there is great interest among the Klallam tribes in preserving the language, Klallam is today still spoken fluently by only a small number of elders living in the area of three reservations on the north shore of Washington's Olympic Peninsula. The aim of this project is the production of a first full grammar of the Klallam language together with a collection of transcribed and translated speech in various genres: traditional narratives, personal anecdotes, community history, jokes, formal speeches, songs, and conversation. The grammar will be written in a general typological framework that will make it accessible and useful both to specialists in Salishan languages and to other linguists of various theoretical persuasions. The PI has for the last three years assisted the Klallam tribes in their efforts to preserve and revitalize their language. A large amount of various kinds of language data has been collected and archived. This project will build on this preliminary work.
